Forgiveness is never too late
by Selenite
Summary: Electra tried looking in his eyes. They were soft and mournful. They told everything he could not put into words. In the end, she reached out to him, too. And as soon as they held hands, Nemo pulled her up, and exactly as back then, he put his arms around her, protecting her from all the horrors that waited outside... -Set some time after Episode 22.


_Losing sleep  
In a waking dream_

_A recurring face I see  
Comes to pass my way_

_Still, my heart  
Will you please be still, my heart  
In this world of change  
You keep turning me 'round again_

– _Vangelis; Losing Sleep (Still, My Heart)_

* * *

Fresh breeze stroked her face when she finally reached the surface.

It was not a very long, but still very vertical and laborious journey to get here, all the way from the underground of the lost City of Tartessos. And was it worth it? Well, hard to answer that question.

In fact, Electra did not wish to see this place, ever again. Since she had left this lonely, terrifying site of death and destruction 13 years ago, she'd always hoped she would never have to return here.

However, there she stood, right there where it all had started. This solemn, grievous place just wouldn't stop calling to her.

She looked around and viewed her surroundings, trying to guess where exactly she'd just emerged, hoping to find some kind of familiar sight. But all that was left here, were the surrounding hills and rocks, a bit of a barren land, and in the middle of it just dark, still waters of a lake – the same waters that had extinguished and buried her burning homeland on that fateful night.

And in a sense, it felt familiar to her. Everything she saw now had been hiding deep inside her mind all this time. These pictures were the last memories of this place she'd once called home.

Of course, there was much more vegetation than she remembered seeing last time. Also no more scavenging birds and no dead bodies whatsoever. Just stillness and silence, apart from the strange, howling sound of the wind.

Sighing, she randomly chose a direction and set out for a lonely, thoughtful walk.

For a moment she once again wondered if this was the right way she should spend the morning of the Christmas Day. She thought about that, but just for a moment...

No, there was no better way.

Electra had planned to visit the surface since the day they'd found and secured the way up. But there simply hadn't been any time for that. Every single person of the former Nautilus crew had been working so hard to make the unearthing of the Excelion possible, taking breaks just to eat or sleep, even the captain himself. Well, their captain most of them all...

So Electra just couldn't take a break herself, not like that. Not until today, the first completely free day captain Nemo had granted them since their arrival here.

The gusts of wind tugged at her hair and clothes. Its sound was precisely the same as she remembered it. From all the possible sounds, most of all it resembled a long, painful wail.

She wondered as to why. Previously, at the times the City had been still alive, the wind did not sound like that at all. Or perhaps she used to be too happy and cheerful to really hear it.

Time seemed to lost its pace in this strange place. Was it ten minutes, or an hour she'd been striding to who knew where?

Trying to catch her breath, Electra came to a halt. She felt lost. Will she find a way back again? All it took was to turn around and return, but...

Her eyes widened.

A few feet away from her, she finally found a familiar spot. A small tombstone. She looked away from it, quickly, but she already knew where her eyes would stop.

Another tombstone, and then one more, two more...

She recalled the bodies, and the terrifying noises made by the scavenging birds. She recalled the burials. She recalled Nemo and several other survivors digging the graves.

And then, she recalled the burial of her brother. His tombstone must be near. Just a few minutes' walk from here.

With her mind strangely blank, Electra set out again, and paced furiously until she finally found it. This gravestone was lacking any identifier, it could have been anyone resting underneath it. But she knew exactly who it was.

Tears already trickled down her face when she touched the stony surface. However, she didn't have any words to say, any thoughts to share.

"Forgive me." she said in the end and ran, so far away and so fast her feet let her. She ran until she finally fell to the ground, tired, helpless and lost.

However, soon after gathering some strength, Electra stood up again. She did not know why, but she just walked. Wearily, aimlessly... Until another familiar place caught her eye. Her place. Her refuge, her tiny little home under the overhanging rock.

She stared at it just for a moment. All it took was just one quick decision before she moved to sit in between the rocks. All she needed now was to hide from the cruelty of the world once more, exactly as those thirteen years ago. Exactly as back then when she had been an abandoned survivor – the eleven-year-old girl called Medina.

Curling up against her rocky seat, she just closed her eyes and listened to the wailing wind, trying to accept the past and to not to fear the future.

How much time had passed, she couldn't say. She wondered if she should ever go back or just stay here forever. Would anyone miss her at all? Would anyone care?

The answer suddenly stood right in front of her.

He was as tall as back then, but this time, his clothes weren't dirty and ragged at all. No, he was clean and dressed in his uniform, the edges of his long coat billowing in the wind. Also his hair was much longer, its dark strands reaching far below his shoulders, waving softly in the moving air.

Nemo just stood there all by himself, unmoving and silent. Peaceful.

In the end, he crossed the distance between them and reached out his hand. At first, Electra did not respond. She just eyed him with suspicion, as silent as he was.

His fingers were bare this time: No golden rings with precious stones, no symbols of his royal status, no signs of who he once used to be.

She tried looking in his eyes. They were soft and mournful. They told everything he could not put into words.

In the end, she reached out to him, too. And as soon as they held hands, he pulled her up, and exactly as back then, he put his arms around her, protecting her from all the horrors that waited outside.

In response to that, after all those years, Electra finally gave up on her hatred. She just buried her face into the fabric of his uniform, and grasping the collar of his coat, she let her tears flow.

„Why are you here?" she asked after a long while.

"Looking for a certain first officer." he replied simply.

"Really?" She looked up.

"She's young but very capable." Nemo said, stroking her hair for a brief, fleeting moment. "Tireless and reliable."

"Reliable...?" She laughed shortly, lowering her eyes again, her voice filled with sarcasm.

"As I said." he confirmed in a perfectly calm manner. "And I can't complete my mission without her."

She snorted, full of sudden disdain she felt mainly for herself. "I'm a traitor, remember?"

"You're not." He objected, to her surprise.

"The crew thinks otherwise..." Electra reminded him. But it had no effect.

"I beg to differ." Nemo insisted.

She let out an incredulous laugh again. "Everyone's still waiting what will happen, you know? You promised you'd punish me but you haven't. I mean... this uncertainty is unbearable. For everyone. Why don't you just–"

"I didn't tell you yet," he interrupted her promptly, in a very soft but also insistent fashion, "But officer Fletcher, Mr. Okazaki and Mr. Villan had a rather important talk with me yesterday."

She raised her head a bit, feeling genuinely curious. "Talk about what?"

"They insisted I should not punish you." He revealed. "I'm quite certain they meant it as a gift for you."

She raised her head even more in anticipation. "And what did you say?"

"What do you think?" He answered with a question. "Of course I gladly granted it. What else should I've done at this time of the year?"

"Maybe you're right." she admitted after a hesitant, silent moment, lowering her sight. "Yet again, according to our rules I should have been executed."

"I don't want anyone ever die for my sake." Nemo objected resolutely, his calm voice suddenly growing powerful. "Not again. And certainly not on my command."

Strange how just a few words spoken like that revealed his authority – and not just as their captain, but also as the person he tried to hide and forget. A person that once had a name and a different life.

Eventually, he bowed his head. "You least of all." He murmured into her hair.

"I see." she whispered, nodding against the fabric of his clothes.

A long silence settled between them before he spoke again. "But I still have something to ask of you, Electra."

"What is it?"

"Will you still follow me on this final mission?" was his somewhat unexpected question. But why was he asking that again? Hadn't she and the whole crew agreed to that the day they decided how to get to the Excelion?

"Of course I will." Electra answered in a firm voice. "I said it once before."

"A while ago, your intentions weren't as clear." Nemo recalled.

"I'm sorry then." she said in a softer manner, pulling just slightly away. "But you don't need to worry." she continued and rested her forehead against him. "I know who I am and what I need to do. I know now."

"That sounds like the first officer I knew." He said and moved away slowly. "Should I leave you on your own again?" He asked then, still holding her fingertips.

"I said I'd follow you, remember?" Electra reassured him, daring to look fully in his eyes.

"Of course you did." Nemo almost whispered, looking away.

"Walk with me." He prompted then, taking a step back, and pulled her lightly with him.

And Electra did not hesitate and set out to follow her captain.

* * *

_**AN: Happy new year, dear readers!** As for this story, I originally wished to publish it before Christmas as I meant it as a gift (and apology) to the readers of my other Nadia-fanfic, Back to the Stars. However, health problems came in the way so a New year gift it is :)_


End file.
